Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $16.43 and traded as high as $17.67. Pacific Gas & Electric shares last traded at $17.6150, with a volume of 18,660,327 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PCG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.59 and its 200 day moving average is $16.43. The company has a market capitalization of $38.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Pacific Gas & Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $582,001.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 195,091 shares in the company, valued at $3,572,116.21. This represents a 14.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerry Whorton Cooper sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $46,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 73,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,366,273.88. This represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 84,286 shares of company stock worth $1,528,746 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Gas & Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric by 826.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.